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The Orville/Season 2
Season 2 of ''The Orville'' debuted on December 30, 2018, on Fox and concluded on April 25, 2019. The season continued the adventures of the [[USS Orville|USS Orville]]:'' meeting new aliens, facing old adversaries and encountering new ones, and revisiting the planet Moclus. The season's heavy emphasis on drama and action was a marked departure from Season 1's lighthearted storytelling and frequent use of allegory; and, after Season 2 ended, creator Seth MacFarlane said that he had secretly wanted to take The Orville in that direction since the show began."Seth MacFarlane - 'The Orville'". THR Awards Chatter. April 25, 2019. Season 2 was highly praised by critics and television audiences alike, a marked departure from Season 1, which received sharply negative reviews from professional critics but a glowing response from fans. After Rotten Tomatoes awarded Season 2 a 100 percent "Certified Fresh" rating from critics, MacFarlane stated: ''Critics always come out swinging when I do something new ... You try to ignore it, but at the same time it's nice when you see that big, fat, nice, round tomato and that 100 percent."Mindscape 58 | Seth MacFarlane on Using Science Fiction to Explore Humanity". Sean Carroll. Aug. 5, 2019. The Orville was renewed for a second season in November of 2017. Unlike Season 1, which aired in the fall, Season 2 aired mid-season over the winter and early spring. Renewal By the middle of Season 1, expectations were high, but not certain, that the show would be renewed. "They were talking about a second season by the end of filming the first," author Jeff Bond later said. The Orville had posted respectable ratings for the Thursday 9 p.m. broadcasting slot, Fox's highest since 2015. Bond, who had had unique access to the show during its first season production, observed: They didn't have any idea how the show was going to be received.... Initially it got very poor reviews based on the pilot, and it ended up doing very well in the ratings because of night football. They moved it to Thursday nights and there was a sense of disaster because ratings went down, but then they went back up... and outperformed what people thought it would do.''Alvarez, Chris. "Sci-fi television - The World of The Orville - Jeff Bond interview - AAD 88". YouTube. Dec. 20, 2018. Helping The Orville's case, the state of California approved the show for $14.5 million in tax breaks for a second season.Andreeva, Nellie & Dominic Patten. "‘The Orville’ & ‘Good Trouble’ Eye Renewals After Landing Tax Incentives For Future Seasons". ''Deadline. Dec. 10, 2018. On the other hand, The Orville ran high production costs. Each episode cost roughly $7 million to produce, more expensive than most of its competition, and the network had declined to order 13 more episodes for the Spring of 2018."SDCC2017 The Orville, EP's David. A Goodman, Jason Clark, & Brannon Braga Interview". FanboyNation. July 25, 2017. On November 2, 2017, Fox announced that it had renewed the show for a second season, four days after ''Majority Rule'' aired, the second most-watched episode of the show overall.Andreeva, Nellie. "‘The Orville’ Renewed For Season 2 By Fox". Deadline. Nov. 2, 2017. Renewal came early in the year for The Orville, beating all Fox shows but The Simpsons. Some journalists were surprised that Fox chose to renew the series instead of ordering more episodes for the first season, but creator Seth MacFarlane had long said that he did not want a second half of the first season in order to keep the show's production values high. The budget was increased for Season 2, but the exact amount is unknown.Keveney, Bill. "Seth MacFarlane on 'The Orville' return, Carrie Fisher and the 'destructive' Fox News". USA Today. Dec. 26, 2018. Twelve days later, on November 14, Fox moved the originally filmed twelfth episode of Season 1 to Season 2.Tim Surette. "The Orville's Season Will be Cut Short". TVGuide. Nov. 14, 2017. Online. http://www.tvguide.com/news/the-orville-season-1-episode-count/ The company did not give a reason for its decision. Trailers Fox released a three-minute Season 2 trailer on July 21, 2018 at that year's San Diego Comic-Con. The trailer's serious tone was a remarkable departure from the 2017 May trailer, which portrayed the show as comedy-driven. Creator Seth MacFarlane was delighted: "I think the trailer that Fox has put together this year is awesome. They've knocked it out of the park. They've really captured the balance comedy and drama perfectly. I think it's much more representational of what the show is than last year's."CineMovie. "Seth MacFarlane Talks The Orville & Ed and Kelly's Future Romance". YouTube. Aug. 1, 2018. On October 27, a second trailer aired during commercials for the 2018 baseball World Series, a mix of new material and old footage revealed in the first trailer. On October 29, Fox released a third trailer. On December 20 and 21, Fox released "preview" videos entitled Preview: Welcome To The Galaxy ''and ''Preview: There's Nothing Like It. 2018-19 schedule Season 2 began on December 30, 2018, a Sunday night, on a midseason schedule, and after the premiere episode, the show reverted to its old Thursday night time slot.Andreeva, Nellie. "Fox Fall 2018-19 Schedule: Multi-Camera Comedy Block On Friday, ‘9-1-1’ Moves To Monday, ‘The Orville’ Returns In December". Deadline. May 14, 2018. Fox did not specify why it unexpectedly bumped the show to a midseason schedule although the studio did mention that the show would begin exactly after the conclusion of Thursday Night Football ''- a newly purchased property that had occupied The Orville's old Thursday night time slot during the fall. Michael Cecchini, a journalist for ''Den of Geek who attended the Fox Upfronts, mollified fans not to be "fooled" by Fox moving The Orville to midseason, reporting that network leadership said the show is a "huge priority."Cecchini, Michael. "Don't be fooled by #TheOrville being held until midseason. Network calls it a "huge priority." #FOXUpfronts". Twitter. May 14, 2018. Within the studio, the extension came as a "huge relief" to the crew, according to visual effects producer Brooke Noska, as the team had much more time to complete post-production."The Orville Fan Podcast w/ The Visual Effects Team". Planetary Union Network. May 23, 2018. Episode count published this photo of Captain Ed Mercer's office to his Instagram, the first image revealed of the set in the second season.]]Going into Season 2, creator Seth MacFarlane wanted a low number of episodes to maintain the high quality of the show: "I'd rather do fewer episodes and have them be better content-wise than do 22 and have them be filler."Surette, Tim. "The OrvilleSeason 2 Will Be Bigger, But We'll Probably Have to Wait for It". TVGuide. Jan. 4, 2017. The second season includes the missing episode ''Primal Urges''. The first season had 13 episodes but the twelfth was moved to the second season, meaning that the second season would have at least 14 new episodes in addition to one already-produced episode. Whether the season would have 15 total episodes was at one point an open question. Originally, Fox purchased 13 new episodes. According to executive producers David A. Goodman and Brannon Braga and director Jon Cassar in a July 2018 table interview, Fox purchased an additional episode to bring the total to 15.Serienjunkies. "THE ORVILLE: Interview mit den Produzenten um Brannon Braga der SciFi-Serie | SDCC 2018". YouTube. July 24, 2018. While there is no clear answer to the producers' comment, the final number of episodes was 14. Production As production began, the crew was understandably nervous for the success of the show. "It’s scary going into a brand-new season," MacFarlane said. "Because you’ve just written an entire batch of episodes, presumably that you are proud of and that you feel good about, and then you have to do it all over again. In the back of your head, there’s always the scary thought, ‘Oh, s—t. We used up all the stories, and there are no more.’"Longeretta, Emily. "‘The Orville’ Season 2: Seth MacFarlane on His Mom’s Impact, Tonal Changes". Us Weekly. Dec. 22, 2018. The cast and crew had their first joint meeting for the upcoming season on January 28. Writing According to executive producer David A. Goodman, several important writing changes occurred between Season 1 and 2: * At MacFarlane's suggestion, when the writing team met for Season 2, they decided to pen more dramatic, less comedic scripts.Pascale, Anthony. "Interview: David A. Goodman On How ‘The Orville’ Wrapped Up Season Two And Where It Could Go Next". TrekMovie. May 3, 2019. * Plot lines and character arcs would be more continuous from episode to episode. * Great attention would be paid to the lore of The Orville by fleshing out the "nuts and bolts" about locations and species. Other early writing decisions included giving Gordon Malloy more screen time by making him desire companionship, fostering a familial relationship between Claire Finn, her children, and Isaac for the first half of the season, and having Ed Mercer and Kelly Grayson date other people. Some episodes came from Season 1. During writing production for Season 1 in 2016 through 2017, MacFarlane and the writing team completed 16 scripts, 13 of which were used in the first season and three set aside if the show was renewed (two of which were the scripts for Identity, Pt. 1 ''and [[Identity, Pt. 2|''Identity, Pt. 2]]).Alvarez, Chris. "Sci-fi television - The World of The Orville - Jeff Bond interview - AAD 88". YouTube. Dec. 20, 2018. At the conclusion of writing for the new season, "a couple" scripts were set aside for a possible Season 3."The Orville star Adrianne Palicki beams aboard the ORVILLELAND podcast". ORVILLELAND. Jan. 4, 2019. Changes to the cast, Halston Sage departs, Jessica Szohr joins Several major changes to the cast occurred, the most infamous being the departure of actress Halston Sage (Alara) to star in a Netflix movie. Actress Jessica Szohr replaced Sage,Andreeva, Nellie. ‘The Orville’: Jessica Szohr Cast As Series Regular For Season 2 Of Fox Series. Deadline. Feb. 12, 2018. playing Talla Keyali. Two new regularly recurring actors were added, Chris Johnson (Cassius)Petski, Denise. "‘The Orville’: Chris Johnson Set To Recur On Season 2 Of Seth MacFarlane’s Fox Dramedy". Deadline. Feb. 21, 2018.Snapchat videos by jleefilms. Compiled by /u/arrowsofshield. "The first table read of season 2 is today!" Reddit.com. Feb. 23, 2018. and Michaela McManus (Janel Tyler). The characters were promoted as creating a "rift" between Ed and Kelly, and forcing the commanders to deal with separate relational problems.Topel, Fred. "SETH MACFARLANE ADDRESSES CRITICS’ HARSH TAKE ON THE ORVILLE STORY LINE". Rotten Tomatoes. March 19, 2018. Changes to the crew Jon Cassar, who directed the episode Krill, was hired as a permanent director."I couldn't be happier starting my new job today. Director/Producer on Season 2 of #TheOrville" @joncassar. Instagram. Jan. 9, 2018. Joe Menosky, a writer for Star Trek: Discovery, left the show and joined The Orville as writer and co-executive producer.Wright, Matt. "‘The Orville’ Season 2 Production Starts, Star Trek Writer Joe Menosky Joins". TrekMovie. Feb. 26, 2018. He would write the episode ''Sanctuary''. Tami Lane replaced Howard Berger as head of the make-up department. Co-executive producer Wellesley Wild, author of the episode ''Primal Urges'', left The Orville to create a reboot of the show Animaniacs. Shonnard Hedges left the editing team, reducing the number of editors to two."#707 (Tom Costantino ACE of "The Orville")". Going POSTal. May 13, 2019. Storyboard artist Marc A. Vena was replaced by Frank Dellafemina III. Concept design artist Lex Cassar joined. Throughout the season, famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson served as an informal science adviser to the show.Burks, Raymond. "Neil deGrasse Tyson Consults on The Orville's Scientific Accuracy". ScreenRant. Oct. 9, 2018. Changes to sets Design and construction teams led by production designer Stephen J. Lineweaver and art director Robert Strohmaier built an armory for the ship, more ship hallways, and a classroom.Lineweaver, Stephen & Robert Strohmaier. "The Orville: A Chance to Design the Future". ADG Perspective. July-Aug. 2018. Pg. 99-101. New decals were added to the exteriors of Union shuttles.@joncassar. "Another shooting week begins on #TheOrville". Instagram. March 26, 2018. Filming Filming took place between February 26Cassar, Jon. "Here we go #TheOrville season 2 starts shooting. Stay tuned." Instagram. Feb. 26, 2018. and October 15, 2018,@joncassar. On the Fox backlot setting up the first shot of our last shooting day of season 2 on #TheOrville. Instagram. Oct. 15, 2018. although second unit filming continued until February 26, 2019.@joncassar. "A little second unit pickup shooting today on #TheOrville ...coming at ya In December". Instagram. Oct. 29, 2018.@TomCostantino. "MORE-VILLE stuff from my phone. Future throwback #BTS. The last set up of Sesaon 2. @SethMacFarlane @TheOrville #TheOrville @planetary_union @joncassar". Twitter. March 6, 2019. Total filming took exactly one year. After filming of the sixth episode concluded on May 11, the cast and crew took a several weeks-long break.@vintageivy. "This Assistant Costume Designer is all packed up and ready for #theorville few weeks of hiatus. #seeyounexttime #shipmetoanywherefun #willtravel #packituppackitin #behindthescenes". Instagram. May 12, 2018. The purpose of the break was to give the effects team time to edit the shot footage while others could prepare for the next five episodes, followed by another break for the remaining episodes."The Orville Fan Podcast w/ The Visual Effects Team". Planetary Union Network. May 23, 2018. Season 1 had no breaks, and the effects team found themselves pressed against time to finish editing."The Orville Fan Podcast w/ The Visual Effects Team". Planetary Union Network. May 23, 2018. A second break took place at the end of July. Post-filming As they had done in Season 1, the cast and crew celebrated with a wrap party on October 13. This time, the party was held at The Highlight Room in Los Angeles, California, which featured a disc jockey, MacFarlane singing "Fly Me to the Moon,"@StJerome. Untitled. Twitter. Oct. 14, 2018. and a novelty portrait room that made a three-dimensional photograph of people with the Orville.For example, see this untitled photograph posted by @StJerome. Twitter (Oct. 14, 2018). MacFarlane gifted members of the production crew with personalized "Orville" bottles of Tennessee bourbon or embroidered throw pillows.@TheLizHarding. "My first wrap gift. Setting the bar high @SethMacFarlane. Thanks for all you do and a huge shoutout to everyone behind the scenes that helped make season two a reality! #TheOrville". Twitter. Oct. 14, 2018. Editors showed outtake montages of the cast./u/markjacksonacts. "I’m Mark Jackson and I play AI badass Isaac on The Orville. Ask me questions!". Reddit. Feb. 4, 2019. (The Planetary Union Network published a video of the montages several days after Season 2 concluded.THE ORVILLE SEASON 2 GAG REEL. Planetary Union Network. April 30, 2019.) After the final day of shooting, the footage entered post-production and the main cast returned to their daily lives. "It feels so surreal. It's been a wonderful journey," Penny Johnson Jerald (Claire Finn) told her fans. "I can't wait for you guys to see what we have in store."@pennyjjerald. Video. Twitter. Oct. 16, 2018. Post-production The second season represents a significant increase over the first in the amount of edited footage. The first season represented over 4,000 visual effects shots, and the second is expected to double that number.Goldman, Michael. "Space Farce : The Exploratory Workflow of ‘The Orville’". CineMontage. Aug. 17, 2018. Visual effects vendor Pixomondo joined the retinue of effects companies working on The Orville for Season 2. After November, editors worked on the footage in MacFarlane's studio in New York City, New York so that he could shoot a short film while monitoring the edits as well."#253: Scott Grimes from The Orville and American Dad". Comic Book Central. Dec. 23, 2018. Transition to JAZ Pods Throughout 2018, Fox explored the idea to reduce the number of commercials during television programs by 40 percent. By early June, the proposal caught MacFarlane's attention, who wanted more air time per episode of The Orville.McPherson, Doug. "Reducing Ad Load Easier Said Than Done for Fox; NBCU’s Rollout Smoother". Response. June 6, 2018. Meanwhile, Fox wanted "to give the show more content and respect to Seth's creativity."/u/editboy1000. "The Orville Renewed For Season 3? More Evidence of Shows Return". Reddit. April 28, 2019. The two entered talks to test "JAZ Pod" commercials, an industry name for one-minute commercials that would split the episode into more breaks but greatly increase the amount of episode timeMcPherson, Doug. "Reducing Ad Load Easier Said Than Done for Fox; NBCU’s Rollout Smoother". Response. June 6, 2018. from 43:45 to 48:10. By early August, MacFarlane and Fox agreed to use the JAZ Pod format for Season 2. Editor Scott Powell reported that the switch adds five minutes more air time per episode.Goldman, Michael. "Space Farce : The Exploratory Workflow of ‘The Orville’". CineMontage. Aug. 17, 2018. MacFarlane was elated: "We're part of this new, experimental program that creates a different balance between ad time and programming time, ... which allows you to let things breathe in a way that streaming shows are able to do. … That’s been a big boon for our storytelling process." Music All of the composers of Season 1 returned, though the transition to JAZ Pods gave the show five more minutes to develop the music of each episode. "We structured the commercials differently, so we suddenly had all this extra time to play with," MacFarlane recalled. "All of that went into shoeleather ''where it's not dialogue, it's not story; it's imagery that lets you take a breath and take in the set, the visual effects work, and the music.""La-La Land Records Presents: The Music of "The Orville"". La-Land Entertainment. May 9, 2019. Preparing to air On January 4, ''TVGuide reported that the show would not air in 2018. The bit of misreporting earned the attention of even the showrunner, MacFarlane, who published a correction via Twitter that show would air later in the year as originally planned.MacFarlane, Seth. "To correct a bit of misreporting: No, there won’t be an Orville/Family Guy crossover, and yes, The Orville season 2 will arrive later this year." Twitter. Jan. 7, 2018. A finalized premiere date was announced in mid-May that The Orville would return on December 30.Andreeva, Nellie. "Fox Fall 2018-19 Schedule: Multi-Camera Comedy Block On Friday, ‘9-1-1’ Moves To Monday, ‘The Orville’ Returns In December". Deadline. May 14, 2018. After shooting concluded in late November, the actors and workers behind the show returned to interview. Perhaps the most notable appearance was by MacFarlane on Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''on December 18 where a new clip from the next season aired for the first time. "We go deep this season," Jerald promised. "We hit on some issues that people are afraid to touch."Amodio, Joseph V. "Penny Johnson Jerald talks 'The Orville,' 'Star Trek,' more". ''Newsday. Dec. 19, 2018. Leaks From a production standpoint, inadvertently leaked information sparked a change in policy while filming. In an interview with the Planetary Union Network, editor Tom Costantino said a "very gentle hammer" came down on the crew who posted pictures to their social network."The Orville Fan Podcast w/ Tom Costantino, Scott Powell, Bart Rachmil & Hillary Wills". Planetary Union Network. March 19, 2018. Unlike Season 1, in which the show operated in relative obscurity, "now there's at least a couple people checking our network feeds. ... Now we have to be careful." The risk of divulging spoilers became a frequent topic of conversation by the cast in interviews. As actor Scott Grimes explained, "We’ve had some people on the show tweet some things and they get a call from Fox immediately – or Seth. Well, Seth probably calls Fox and says, ‘Call this son of a b****.’"Dickie, George. "‘The Orville’ – Don’t ask Scott Grimes for spoilers". OnTVToday. Feb. 6, 2019. PaleyFest and the Television Academy sneak-peak The first major public appearance by the crew was March 17, when the main cast, Coleman, Braga, Goodman, and Clark returned to PaleyFest for a panel discussion of the show."PaleyFest 2018 LA lineup". Paley Center. Last accessed June 3, 2018. The panel reflected over Season 1 and teased the crowd with snippets of Season 2 information. That same day, Fox quietly hosted a sneak-peak look at Season 2 production for members of the Television Academy."The Orville Fan Podcast w/ Tom Costantino, Scott Powell, Bart Rachmil & Hillary Wills". Planetary Union Network. Planetary Union Network. March 19, 2018. Little is known of that event but some details have since surfaced through promotional items. 2018 San Diego Comic-Con The cast and crew returned to the San Diego Comic-Con on July 21, exuding a new confidence in the show that was not there in 2017. The hosted a panel question-and-answer session, signings, live-streamed interviews, giveaways of merchandise and props from the show, and a Season 2 trailer reveal. Show props given away include a PM-44, a latchkum, a Union comscanner, and several skulls signed by the main cast.@TomConstantino. "Props!!!! Wandering the floor. @planetary_union @odddanout @TheOrville #TheOrvilleSDCC @Brooki_eh". Twitter. July 21, 2018. Cancelled 2018 New York Comic-Con While the cast had long been scheduled to return to New York's Comic-Con in early October (they had attended in 2017), the host unexpectedly announced on September 28 that the show would not make an appearance and the panel was cancelled. New York Comic-Con cited only to a "scheduling conflict," much to the dismay of fans.@NY_Comic_Con. "Due to a scheduling conflict, the cast of THE ORVILLE will not be attending NYCC this year and the panel has been cancelled.". Twitter. Sept. 28, 2018. Editor and associate producer Tom Costantino clarified that the cast and crew needed to shoot, and could not afford to push filming back any later.u/editboy1000. "Sorry gang. Still, shooting! Tried to save the panel until the last minute. Was going to release some new material for the panel. hoping to have it out before the premiere." Reddit. Sept. 29, 2018. Season premiere released its fifth teaser video for the season above.]]Days before the release of Ja'loja, the crew expressed their jitters. "We spend an entire year working on this,” MacFarlane confessed. “You get anxious to get some feedback, because you’re really working in a vacuum up to that point... We always joke on the set that it’s an impossible show to complete on a network schedule and budget, yet somehow, we do it. We’ll be in post-production right up to the wire, trying to get all the stuff done."Bobbin, Jay. "Seth MacFarlane’s ‘The Orville’ takes off for Season 2 on Fox". ONTVToday. Dec. 24, 2018. Trivia * When second-unit filming is included, filming took exactly one year, lasting from February 26, 2018,Cassar, Jon. "Here we go #TheOrville season 2 starts shooting. Stay tuned." Instagram. Feb. 26, 2018. until February 26, 2019. * In January 2019, Scott Grimes and Adrianne Palicki announced their engagement. Schnurr, Samantha. "The Orville Co-Stars Scott Grimes and Adrianne Palicki Are Engaged" E! News. Jan. 18, 2019. * After the Emmy awards nominated the visual effects department for Outstanding Visual Effects, MacFarlane gifted each team member with a bottle of 2009 Dom Perignon champagne.@FUCHIPATAS. "Huge thanks to @SethMacFarlane for this incredible gift today!! It was a truly unexpected and welcome surprise! ���� @TheOrville @TheEmmys @fusefx". Twitter. July 17, 2019. List of episodes Awards See also * Episodes * Season 1 * Season 1.5 * Season 3 * ''The Orville'' References Category:Season 2 2